Phys 202, Astronomy
Test 1 Study Guide

1. Be able to give your cosmic address
2. Know the approximate number of stars in the galaxy, galaxies in the universe, and age of the universe
3. Know the following astronomical terms
• light year
• stellar parallax
• astronomical unit
4. Be familiar with the celestial sphere, including the following
• ecliptic plane
• celestial equator
• north and south celestial poles
• zenith
• meridian
5. Know how to find the north star, why it is important, and how to use it to find your latitude on the Earth
6. Be familiar with retrograde motion of planets
7. Be familiar with our major motions through the universe. This includes motions of the Earth (rotation, orbital motion, precession), and what apparent motions they cause as viewed from our vantage point on Earth's surface. You should also know that the Sun and other stars move through the galaxy, so that the shapes of constellations slowly change over 100,000 years. Finally, know that the universe is expanding, so that distant galaxies are all moving away from us.
8. Be familiar with the following about Ptolemy's earth-centered universe
• When it was developed and how long it was the leading model
• How it dealt with the problem of retrograde motion of planets
• The order of celestial spheres (the order of objects) in the model
9. Be familiar with the following famous people, when they lived, and their contribution to astronomy
• Tycho Brahe
• Copernicus
• Kepler
• Galileo
• Ptolemy
10. Be familiar with the statement and meaning of  Kepler's three Laws of Planetary Motion
11. Be familiar with the statement and meaning of Newton's three Laws of Motion
12. Be familiar with Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, as an inverse square law
13. Be familiar with the different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g. light, radio, X-rays)
14. Be familiar with the relationship between wavelength, frequency and period of a wave
15. Be familiar with the structure of atoms (negatively charged electrons around positively charged protons and neutral neutrons in the nucleus), and how atoms produce light (by electrons changing energy levels in their "orbits" about the nucleus).
16. Be familiar with the blackbody spectrum, and how the wavelength changes with temperature.
17. Know what the Doppler effect is, how it is produced, and how it can be used to tell radial velocity (velocity toward or away from us)
18. Know the order of the planets, their relative sizes (order of size), and their relative masses
19. Know the following about the formation of the solar system:
    • The observed patterns of the solar system, and how the nebular hypothesis for solar system formation accounts for them
    • What the inner (terrestrial) planets of the solar system have in common
    • What the outer (jovian) planets have in common
    • Why the jovian planets are much larger than the terrestrial planets